Galiano Island
Mayne Island
Salt Spring Island
Economic Prosperity | Social Equity | Environmental Quality
Community Economic Sustainability Commission
Southern Gulf Islands
Pender Islands
Saturna Island
Rural Housing Program»
Affordable housing is a top priority for the Regional Director(s) of the Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area (SGI EA) and the Southern Gulf Islands Community Economic Sustainability Commission (SGI CESC), which has identified the need for affordable housing as a key factor influencing the economic and social sustainability of the islands.
The Capital Regional District (CRD) is designing a Rural Housing Program through the development of a Pilot Project that will take place on the Southern Gulf Islands (SGI) and Salt Spring Island (SSI) Electoral Areas (EAs).
The Rural Housing Program (RHP) will prototype various housing solutions that are better suited to the rural context and to enable CRD responsiveness to the housing crisis across the capital region.
Like elsewhere, rural communities in the CRD struggle with a lack of housing options. In the islands, solutions are even more challenged by environmental limits, servicing constraints, higher building costs, and a lack of funding for small scale housing projects.
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Intended Pilot Project Features
• Develop a framework to provide financial assistance for homeowners to build secondary suites and cottages in exchange for commitments to affordable rents;
• Build a program to invest pre-development funding in affordable housing projects; and,
• Support the coordination of activities through additional capacity available to non-profit housing providers.
New funding to support secondary suites and cottages as well as pre-development funding are subject to CRD Board approval through the 2025 budget process. The pilot program on SSI and SGI will test various initiatives that could be implemented across the region’s other rural communities.
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The RHP pilot is a response to the requests from the SGI Community Economic Sustainability Commission (SGI CESC) and the SSI Local Community Commission (SSI LCC) for the CRD to assist with local housing.
The coordination on SSI and SGI is funded by the SGI Tourism Partnership (SGITP), which is the official destination marketing organization for these areas and receives funding from the province through online accommodation providers on the islands. This financial support allows the CRD to employ dedicated staff to manage the program, seek out further partnerships, and provide strategic advice to help project proponents with the complex regulatory environment.
Additionally, the CRD collaborates with the SGI Community Resource Centre to support the Housing Now program. This initiative, funded by the SSI LCC, the SGI CESC, and the SGITP, aims to match renters with various types of long-term housing options available from residents of the islands.
The project team is preparing materials and information to begin community engagement in the fall.
Reports
Housing Now»
The SGI Housing NOW Project is an initiative of the SGI Community Economic Sustainability Commission (CESC), the SGI Community Resource Centre and several Gulf Island housing movements. The SGI Housing NOW Project explores innovative ways to meet this housing crisis in the short-term, as well as into the future.
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Background
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In February 2018, the CRD published the Southern Gulf Islands Housing Needs Assessment. This assessment noted the “serious shortages in secure, appropriate and affordable housing for low to moderate-income earners,” and that “renters are particularly impacted as their incomes are insufficient to enter the homeownership market, and the limited number of rental properties are increasingly vacant seasonally or placed in the vacation rental market.”
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SGI residents and business owners have described the housing situation as bordering on crisis, and as having serious impacts on their families, the community's well-being, and economic sustainability.​
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The summer months are of significant consequence as the lack of accommodations for both seasonal employees and residents negatively impacts the general economy and functionality of community-owned and operated businesses.
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About the Project
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Housing NOW gathers housing stories from residents to identify the most pressing issues facing islanders, and to articulate grassroot solutions that can be implemented NOW.
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The project also has a home/property sharing registry – created for and managed by Islanders to help support both short and long-term housing opportunities in the Southern Gulf Islands. The registry is an actionable housing initiative that supports our island businesses and community groups in the recruitment and retention of employees or volunteers.
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